This invention relates to a latch for a vehicle door. In particular, this invention relates to a powered door latch with a manual override.
Vehicle door latch systems are well known in the art. Typically, a vehicle door will have a latch for engaging and cinching onto a striker. The latch will have a rotatably mounted ratchet engaging a pawl in a ratchet relation. The ratchet cooperates with a mouth of a housing to pivot between an open and closed condition for receiving, engaging and cinching a keeper of a striker. The ratchet has a cam surface having abutment surfaces. As the ratchet engages the keeper of a striker, the ratchet rotates in a latching sense and the pawl travels along the cam surface to retain the ratchet in the closed and cinched conditions.
The vehicle door itself has inner and outer manually movable release handles which are operably connected to inner and outer release levers on the latch. To release the latch, the pawl is rotated by responsive movement of either of the inner or outer release levers to disengage the ratchet.
In powered latch systems, as illustrated in WO 98/33998, power actuators are utilized to lock and unlock the latch. These systems embody solenoids, and sometimes, electrical motors with speed reduction gears. There is a need to provide locking assemblies in which the power operation is more versatile and more universally applicable to all of the various and desirable functions which are required with respect to both front doors and rear doors in four door vehicles.
The disadvantages of the prior art may be overcome by providing a latch assembly and an actuator assembly for a vehicle having a simple mechanism which will lock and unlock the door latch and also provide a mechanism for a manual override.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a latch assembly and actuator assembly for locking and unlocking a vehicle door latch. The latch assembly comprises a latch housing, a ratchet pivotally mounted to the latch housing to pivot between a biased open condition and a closed condition for receiving, engaging and cinching a striker and a pawl pivotally mounted to the latch housing and biased against the ratchet to maintain the ratchet in the closed condition. A pawl lever is operatively coupled to the latch housing and the pawl for effecting releasing rotation of the pawl relative to the ratchet. An inside release assembly comprises an inside release lever pivotally mounted to the latch housing and operably connected to an inside clutch lever and an override lever. The inside clutch lever is moveable to engage and disengage the pawl lever, manipulation of the inside release lever responsively effecting releasing movement of the pawl lever when the inside clutch lever engages the pawl lever. An outside release assembly comprises an outside release lever pivotally mounted to the latch housing and operably connected to an outside clutch lever. The outside clutch lever is moveable to engage and disengage the pawl lever, manipulation of the outside release lever responsively effecting releasing movement of the pawl lever when the outside clutch lever engages the pawl lever. The actuator comprises an actuator housing and a first motor operably engaging a first shaft rotatably mounted in the actuator housing. The shaft has a lock cam mounted thereon. The actuator housing is in mating engagement with the latch housing such that the lock cam is rotatable in the latch housing to engage the inside clutch lever and the outside clutch lever whereby rotation of the lock cam selectively moves at least one of the clutch levers out of engagement with the pawl lever to unlock the latch assembly for releasing the pawl and the ratchet from the closed condition to the open condition.